


Far Beyond Physical

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 03, Developing Relationship, Friends With Benefits, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hints of Angel/Cordelia Chase, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Relationship Discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: "Over the past few months, I've found myself... falling for him." His declaration sounded hesitant because it was the first time Wesley had admitted these feelings aloud to another person, but whenever he looked at Gunn he was certain of how he felt. If only he knew what to do with that information.





	Far Beyond Physical

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the following comment-fic prompt (http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/826540.html?thread=103984556#t103984556): "Any, Any male/Any male, 'It was just supposed to be sex'"
> 
> Gunn and Welsey's relationship went AU just before Angel's "epiphany" in a way that's explained in the fic. The fic itself is set during early season 3, and the love triangle with Fred doesn't exist. There are a few references to the idea of Angel/Cordelia and a hint of Cordelia having feelings for someone unspecified, but most of the focus is on Wes/Gunn.

Wesley sent a longing glance towards the lobby, where Gunn was focused on his Game Boy, and sighed.  
  
"Hello, Wes? You're the one who asked me to come into this office to talk, and I was wondering if you were going to do that some time before I turn as old as Angel."  
  
Wesley stopped staring at Gunn for a few minutes to focus on the person he had invited into his office, Cordelia. Before he had gotten to know her again in L.A., Cordelia would not have been the first person Wesley would have chosen for a personal confession of this nature. But since their time working together, he had seen that her acerbic wit and blunt, sometimes painful, honesty was merely a shell concealing a truly empathetic and loving heart. She was one of his closest friends, and honestly the only person he could imagine discussing this issue with.  
  
That didn't mean it wouldn't be awkward as hell. Wesley cleared his throat and steepled his hands in front of him. "All right, so, before I start, I suppose I should fill you in on a little background." Cordelia nodded, and Wesley continued. "You see, just before Angel came back to the company with his so-called epiphany, my girlfriend Virginia broke up with me, as I'm sure you remember. That night, I went to visit Gunn, and he and I got... closer." Wesley couldn't help blushing at the memory of that first night together.  
  
Cordelia raised a puzzled eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be some kind of euphemism, Wes? Because you guys were already pretty close, what with the taking bullets for each other and the pet names. The only way you could have gotten closer was if you slept together or something."  
  
"Yes, er, well..." He took his glasses off briefly to rub them on his shirt sleeve, suddenly uncomfortable with Cordelia's blunt (and rather accurate) assumptions. He affixed his glasses back to his face and looked back at her expectant and calm expression. "I must say, you're less shocked by this revelation than I thought you might be."  
  
Cordy shrugged. "Yeah, well, I always thought you guys kind of had a homoerotic buddy cop vibe. I just didn't know it was more than a vibe." She smirked at the end of her statement.  
  
Wesley awkwardly cleared his throat. "Yes, well, as I was saying, Gunn and I got closer. At first, we just agreed it would be that one time."  
  
Cordelia laughed. "Let me guess, that didn't work?" She shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that _never_ works. That would be like me sleeping with Angel and the next day, telling him, 'gee, I think we should just be friends.'"  
  
Wesley grimaced at Cordelia's description. The consequences of Angel and Cordelia sleeping together would be much more catastrophic than anything that could happen between him and Gunn. Cordelia would never have an opportunity to give a speech like that, because she would be too busy trying to protect herself from Angelus. Even now, with their relationship still at least nominally platonic, the closeness between the vampire and his seer had given Wesley more than a few sleepless nights spent worrying about the potential consequences of one moment of "perfect bliss" for Angel.  
  
For now, he was resolved to focus on his own romantic troubles and shoved the issue of Angel and Cordelia to the back of his mind to consider later. "You're right, it didn't work. It didn't end up being just one time." Wesley remembered how the tension between them had built for a week before it finally exploded. Wesley had been surprised by his own neediness and lack of self-control when it came to Gunn. He supposes that was where his current problem began. "We decided to keep things casual." Gunn had been inexperienced when it came to relationships with other men, so Wesley hadn't want to push him too fast. And Wesley had initially done everything he could to deny and repress his true feelings, to avoid the exact situation he was facing right now.  
  
Bloody lot of good that his denial did him now.

"And that didn't work either?" Cordelia's voice held a note of sympathy and understanding, and Wesley was reminded of why he had decided to talk to her in the first place.  
  
"It didn't," he confirmed. He gazed out the window of his office towards Gunn, who was laughing uproariously at something Angel said that obviously wasn't a joke, given the scowl on the other man's face. When he heard Gunn's deep, rich laughter and saw his grin and twinkling dark eyes, Wesley felt adrift, lost helplessly in a sea of warmth and affection. "Over the past few months, I've found myself... falling for him." His declaration sounded hesitant because it was the first time Wesley had admitted these feelings aloud to another person, but whenever he looked at Gunn he was certain of how he felt. If only he knew what to do with that information.  
  
"So, why don't you just tell him?"  
  
Wesley sighed and glanced back at Cordelia. "It's really not that simple."  
  
She rolled her eyes and made a disbelieving "pfft" noise. "Actually, it is. I mean, you're never gonna know if you don't say something, and you don't want to be pathetic pining guy forever, right?"  
  
Cordelia had a point, but Wesley still felt like she was understating the difficulty of her proposed solution.  
  
"He's already sleeping with you, so you know he's at least into you that way." She swallowed heavily and stared down at her hands, which she had begun to twist nervously in her lap. "That's more than some people can say."  
  
With that last comment, Wesley suspected that she had been thinking about something personal, but before he could question it, she composed herself and looked up at him with a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Wesley knew she was putting up a wall after her moment of vulnerability and that he wouldn't be able to unravel the mystery of Cordelia, at least not today.  
  
"I say you man up and tell Gunn how you feel. Who knows, it might work out how you want it to. And if it doesn't, at least you'll know you tried."  
  
Cordelia was right. Wesley didn't want to experience the regret of not trying, of eventually losing Gunn without at least making an effort to keep him.  
  
"Perhaps I shall," he told her. "Thank you, Cordelia."  
  
"Hey, what are friends for if not passing on the wisdom they've gained from their own non-existent love life?"  
  
He chuckled at her joke, but he felt a bit sad for Cordy. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time she had been out on a date. Wesley wondered if her jokes were a mask for loneliness.  
  
She pushed back the chair she was sitting in and stood. "See you later, Wes."  
  
"See you."  
  
With a decisive nod, she turned around and left his office, leaving Wesley with more assurance than he had felt before she arrived.

* * *

The next day, Wesley decided to take Cordy's advice to "man up" and initiate a discussion with Gunn. After quietly telling Gunn that they needed to talk privately, he led Gunn into his office.  
  
"So, English, what's up? I gotta say, hearing you say that we need to talk has me kind of worried."  
  
Gunn's voice held a light tone, but the look on his face reflected genuine anxiety. Wesley wanted to put his mind at ease. "It's nothing bad." He frowned, then decided to amend that statement. "At least I don't think it's anything bad. I'm hoping you do too."  
  
Gunn squinted, obviously confused by Wesley's rather ineloquent rambling. "You're being kind of weird, man." He laid a firm hand on Wesley's shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright?"  
  
Wesley took a deep breath in and out in an attempt to concentrate on something beside the tingles he felt racing down his spine from the way Gunn was touching him. This would require every ounce of courage he had.  
  
"Lately, I... For the past few months..." Wesley clenched his jaw in frustration at his own cowardice and closed his eyes. "I have feelings for you, Gunn. Actual, real feelings. I know we said this would be strictly physical, but I can't be casual with you, not anymore. I'd like it if we could be in a real relationship." His voice dropped and he opened his eyes, but only to stare at the collar of Gunn's shirt, avoiding his gaze. "Assuming you'd want that too, of course."  
  
"Like a couple?" Gunn softly asked.

Wesley nodded, starting to feel more hopeful than nervous. Gunn didn't sound repulsed by the idea, but perhaps he was simply preparing to let him down gently. Still, the fact that he hadn't stopped touching Wesley's shoulder was a good sign, he supposed.  
  
Gunn took several seconds to process everything before he spoke again. "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting this. When you said we needed to talk, I figured you were calling it off."  
  
His hand shifted until he was cradling Wesley's jaw in his hand. Wesley looked up at Gunn, stunned at the depth of emotion his eyes revealed.  
  
"I'm really glad I was wrong," he said. And then his head lowered towards Wesley's face for a kiss. The kiss was just as passionate as those they had shared before, but the emotions behind it were different. Instead of being the happy recipient of Gunn's lust, Wesley felt, dare he say it, _loved_.  
  
But Wesley was not accustomed to getting what he wanted so easily, so when the kiss broke, he made sure they were on the same page. "So, uh, we are together now, right?"  
  
Gunn chuckled. "I'd hope so. I really like you, Wes, and I want to give this a shot."  
  
Wesley smiled, all of his concerns finally abated. This discussion had gone much better than he expected. "Me too."  
  
"I mean, I'm not sure how all of this is supposed to work, really." Gunn shrugged as if he was nonchalant, but Wesley could see a hint of insecurity beneath his bravado. It was a relief to know that he wasn't the only one struggling with that issue. "All I know is that I want it to work."  
  
Wesley idly toyed with the top button on Gunn's shirt. "I don't think there aren't rules for this kind of thing. We'll figure out how it works together."  
  
"So kind of a make it up as you go thing?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Gunn hummed thoughtfully. "So, that means I can kiss you again, right?"  
  
Wesley laughed at the playful expression on Gunn's face and pressed a teasing kiss to the corner of his mouth. "New rule: you don't have to ask to kiss me."  
  
"I'm in favor of that one, English." As Gunn followed the new rule, Wesley closed his eyes and reflected that he was glad he had listened to Cordelia's advice and decided to talk to Gunn. He was grateful for the new understanding between them and looking forward to what the future would bring.


End file.
